SAILING/Cork Week: Just over a year ago, the talk around Cork was of a bid to host the next America's Cup at the world's oldest yacht club. Yesterday, Crosshaven got a taste of big-boat sailing - billionaire style. After less than four days of rancour and racing, German industrialist Hasso Plattner was on a plane out of Ireland after reaching "the final straw" with opponent Roy Disney on Pyewacket.
The defining moment was an incident in the morning race, the fifth of the week, when Pyewacket led around the leeward mark. With her spinnaker in shreds and trailing astern, Morning Glory was also attempting to round the same mark and alleged under protest that the American failed to allow sufficient room for the manoeuvre.
Pyewacket denied the charge but the five-member international jury disqualified her from that race, leaving Plattner with his second race win of the week. But the owner, who also is helm on the boat, was already airborne to Germany, apparently committed to his decision.
His crew, including Irish navigator Ian Moore and tactician Mark Mansfield, were bound to silence on the matter by their owner. Skipper Dee Smith said: "We withdrew from the regatta because of concerns for safety."
Mansfield, released from his obligation and boatless today, added later: "If there was ever an incident between these two boats, there could be serious injury as a result."
Pyewacket's helmsman Robbie Haines expressed his disappointment at the jury's verdict and Plattner's decision to pull out of the regatta. "We don't feel there's any safety concerns on Pyewacket - we have a very competent crew. It would have been our preference to have had five of these maxis on the start line (on a separate course to the other smaller boats) but we don't so its effectively been match-racing."
Haines went on to reassure their hosts the development did not negatively reflect on the event: "There are no implications for Cork Week - there's a track-record with Morning Glory withdrawing."
The implications for the future of the MaxZ86 experiment to develop a class of level-rating maxis now appears highly doubtful. According to Haines, the two boats are as close to equal as possible even though they were built in separate yards in New Zealand and Australia.
"I have mixed feelings as to whether the Z86 class can survive," Haines said last night. "In the future there won't be a one-design maxi class, just various boats around 86, 90, 95 feet racing under handicap. It's really hard to get people who can afford these boats to agree on anything; they're too used to getting their own way."
In a passing remark on learning of the jury's decision, Smith said: "There's no vindication - one way or another." For Pyewacket's part, they don't anticipate further action.Their second race yesterday afternoon places them in an unassailable first place overall.
Morning Glory was alongside Crosshaven boatyard's marina last night, preparing to make her delivery passage south to the Mediterranean amid mounting speculation the two boats would never meet in competition again.
